India / General Rawat's helicopter was to land at 12.15pm, ATC lost contact with it at 12.08pm

New Delhi: Defence minister Rajnath Singh issued a statement in the Lok Sabha on Thursday on the IAF chopper crash that killed 13 including chief of defence staff Bipin Rawat. Recounting the timeline of the fatal crash, the defence minister said the chopper started at 11.48am from Sulur and was supposed to reach the Wellington airbase at 12.15pm. At around 12.08pm, the Sulur base control room lost contact with the chopper. It was a scheduled visit, the defence minister said. 

After the crash, local people reached the spot seeing fire and started rescue work. The local administration pressed into the rescue work. Naming all those who have lost their lives in the crash, the defence minister said Group Captain Varun Singh's health condition is critical as he is on life support. All efforts are being made to save his life, the defence minister said. 

In his statement, the defence minister announced a tri-service inquiry into the crash which will be headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh, who is a Commander of IAF's training command and a helicopter pilot.

Soon after the crash on Wednesday, the defence minister visited Bipin Rawat's residence. It was announced that he will issue a statement in both the houses of Parliament on Thursday. 

General Rawat, India's first CDS, was on a visit to the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington to address the faculty and student officers of the Staff Course when his chopper crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu. General Rawat was appointed as India's first Chief of Defense Staff on December 31, 2019. He previously served as Chief of the Army Staff from January 2017 to December 2019. He was commissioned into the Indian Army in December 1978. A veteran of counterinsurgency warfare, CDS Rawat served in the most difficult terrains including Northern and Eastern commands.